This past off-season, the Pirates extended Chris Stewart, which led to the belief that they wouldn’t extend Francisco Cervelli. Then they extended Cervelli, which led to the belief that Elias Diaz was now expendable.
It’s easy to see how that belief was held early in the season. We were four seasons removed from the 2011 season, when the Pirates used eight different catchers, including five of them in double-digit games, and three of them for 30 starts or more. Since that season, the Pirates have been somewhat fortunate with their catching injuries, especially when you consider that they’ve spent the previous three years with Francisco Cervelli and Russell Martin as their starters.